Title: Pan American Health Organization
1Environmental Issues in the U.S.-Mexico Border
2Air pollution
Brick making
3New settlements without proper planning
4Poor housing and living conditions
5abandoned waste and macro -breeding sites for
mosquitoes
6Border Crossings on a regular day
400 million legal crossings per year South to
North 3.8 million commercial truck crossings per
year South to North
7Border XXI Program
- 1983 La Paz agreement designated six
work groups (Air, water, hazardous waste,
contingency planning, pollution prevention and
cooperative enforcement) - 1996 Three groups were added natural resources,
environmental - information and environmental
- health
8Border XXI Environmental Health Working Group
- Mission -
- To improve the environmental health of
U.S.-Mexico border communities by identifying and
addressing those environmental conditions posing
the highest human health risk - NOTE A selection of a rational list of
indicators is required to accomplish this mission
9Border 2012 Program
- Mission -
- To protect the environment and public health in
the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with
the principles of sustainable development - In this program, sustainable development is
defined as conservation-oriented social and
economic development that emphasizes the
protection and sustainable use of resources,
while addressing both current and future needs
and present and future impacts of human
actions.)
10Border XXI Environmental Health Working Group
- PAHO received the assignment for developing the
environmental health indicators - (Nov. 1999)
11Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua June 5-6, 2000
Exploratory meeting
20 Organizations participated 10 from Mex. 8
from the U.S. 2 International
12"Need to Unify Criteria and Concepts"
- Same terminology with different definitions
- Available data was not comparable.
- Unable to measure impact in health
- Need to define criteria for data collection,
using same methodology and instruments
13New Process to Develop the Environmental Health
Indicators in the U.S.-Mexico Border
- Preparation of a conceptual document
- Validation of the document
- Disclosure of the conceptual document to
national, state and local authorities - Workshop in sister cities along the U.S-Mexico
border to implement the environmental health
indicators program (data collection and
monitoring) - Evaluation of the implemented indicators
14Conceptual Document Development
- First Draft PAHO/WHO Collaboration Center CHUQ
- Research Center, Canada,
- June , 2001
- Second Draft Experts meeting El Paso, Texas
- July 26-27, 2001
- Final Proposal After revision by federal
governments - September 17 November 16, 2001
- Dissemination of the document January , 2002
15Conceptual Document
- Contents -
- Define environmental health
- Define environmental health indicator
- Establish a framework for Indicator
- Define criteria for Selecting of Indicators
- Propose list of Core Indicators
-
16Environmental Health
Environmental health comprises Those aspects
of human health, disease, injury and well-being
that are determined or influenced by factors in
the in the environment. This includes the study
of both direct deleterious effects of various
chemical, physical, and biological agents, as
well as the effects on health of the broad
physical and social environment, which includes
housing, urban development, land-use and
transportation, industry and agriculture. Environm
ent health also refers to the professional
practice of evaluating, preventing, correcting or
controlling environment risks and promoting the
benefits for communities and individuals
17Environmental Health Indicator
an expression of the link between environment
and health, targeted at an issue of specific
policy or management concerns and presented in a
form which facilitates interpretation for
effective decision making
18DPSEEA Model
WHO, 1999
19Development Environment-Health Chain
20- CRITERIA FOR INDICATORS
- Of general relevance
- related to a specific question or issue of
concern - health-related and linked to environment/developme
nt factors - sensitive to changes in the conditions of
interest - provide early warning of pending changes
- Scientifically sound
-
- unbiased and representative of the conditions of
concern - scientifically credible, reliable and valid
- based on best available data of acceptable
quality - robust and unaffected by minor changes in
methodology/scale used for their construction. - consistent and comparable over time and space
- Applicable to users
21Indicators for Decision Makers
- Monitor and assess trends
- Identify and prioritize problems
- Set standards and guidelines
- Monitor progress
- Inform the public
22US - Mexico Border Indicators Initiatives
- Demographic indicators
- Socio economics
- Health indicators
- Health core data indicators
- Global/regional health indicators
- Environmental health indicators
- Health cities indicators
23CORE INDICATORS
- Opportunities
- Shared knowledge on environment and health
effects - Inter-and intra-country comparisons
- Aggregation at different levels
- Reporting international treaties/agreements/conven
tions - Reduced country burdens
- Streamlined and harmonized data collection and
management
24Environmental Health Indicators
Conceptual Document